President Obama called on North Korea on Thursday to end its belligerence after months of escalating rhetoric and actions related to its nuclear program.

Obama also pledged that “the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its people and to meet our obligations under our alliances in the region.” The United States has defense treaties with South Korea and Japan.

“Now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they’ve been taking and to try to lower temperatures,” Obama said after an Oval Office meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

In December, the government of Kim Jong Un tested a long-range rocket, followed two months later by an underground nuclear test. The U.N. Security Council tightened economic sanctions against North Korea in response. Since then, the Pyongyang government has threatened war against the United States and South Korea.

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Is North Korea serious about war?

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Following a threat to launch a nuclear attack on the United States, North Korea’s state news arm, the Korean Central News Agency (also known as KCNA) released dozens of photos that show the country’s army and navy performing military drills, many of which were attended by leader Kim Jong Eun. Note: The KCNA has a history of digitally altering images it distributes. Because of North Korean government restrictions, news services that distribute them and The Washington Post cannot verify these images.

Caption

Following a threat to launch a nuclear attack on the United States, North Korea’s state news arm, the Korean Central News Agency (also known as KCNA) released dozens of photos that show the country’s army and navy performing military drills, many of which were attended by leader Kim Jong Eun. Note: The KCNA has a history of digitally altering images it distributes. Because of North Korean government restrictions, news services that distribute them and The Washington Post cannot verify these images.

Members of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards attend military training in this image released March 13.Korean Central News Agency via Reuters

Senior administration officials have called the threats typical of North Korea’s “pattern of behavior” dating back to the George W. Bush administration. Earlier this month, the Pentagon ordered the deployment of an antimissile system to Guam to boost defenses.

“Nobody wants to see a conflict on the Korean Peninsula,” Obama said. “But it’s important for North Korea, like every other country in the world, to observe the basic rules and norms that are set forth, including a wide variety of U.N. resolutions.”

Scott Wilson is the chief White House correspondent for the Washington Post. Previously, he was the paper’s deputy Assistant Managing Editor/Foreign News after serving as a correspondent in Latin America and in the Middle East.

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Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.